January 30, 2008

Last April, when I was in Austin, I blogged this photograph of a colored lamp in front of a convex mirror:

I got more comments on that photograph, and lots of people asked me what the store was. I couldn't remember. But I made a point of figuring it out when I was back in Austin last weekend. The store is Maya:

The round light isn't there, but the beautiful convex mirror is, along with some new, but similar lights:

Here's the Maya website, and I think they'll help you find that round light if you want. Ah! Here it is.

Me, I'm in love with the mirror. It's expensive — over $1800 — but as I thought about possibly buying it, I realized what I wanted if for was to take pictures, and therefore what I really should buy is a fisheye lens for my Nikon D50.

ADDED: Is this the fisheye lens I need? Tell me, camera nerds. You know I love distortion, and the question — as always — is: Just how much bloggable fun can I possibly have?

1800 bucks for a mirror? Jeez. I've had good luck finding mirrors, especially mirrors, in second hand furniture stores/barns/warehouses. Used to be every farmhouse had lots of wood frame mirrors with really nice woodwork; square shaped, rectangular, as well as round and oval; wall mirrors, dresser mirrors, free standing hall mirrors. I've picked up several for under $100. Sure the glass was slightly marred and the wood had some chinks but still.....

Are you kidding? Those places are goldmines. What's the markup on that mirror, 2000%? And what's to say she didn't pick up some little tshotchka on impulse? Those novelty shops thrive on impulse buying alone.

Mom says that she realized all she really wanted to do is take pictures.

So what kind of "free-publicity" is that?

The merchandise is good enough to photograph , but not good enough to buy.

Beware Shops on South Congress: ---If you see middle-aged Blonde Mother, with unshaven Son in tow, making a beeline for your store...... Be advised, these two don't plan to buy a thing, they just want to use you to add to their photo albums .

---Every Merchant's dreaded nightmare. I'd like to see these Two go snapping away photo after photo at Target or WalMart !

In 6-months, 'Maya' loses their lease, defaults on their loan, files Bankruptcy, stiffs their investors and employees, the store is gutted, and now South Congress turns into nothing but runned-down blight.

Hey Maxine...I just got a new apartment in Long beach (your favorite city) and when I saw that cute light I thought it would look great in my apartment. I might buy some stuff from them if they deliver and I can order online. So maybe Ann is doing them some good?

I remember discussing a wide-angle P/C lens with you in Madison. Nikon just announced a new one specifically for digital photography:

Nikon today announced a new Nikkor unlike any before it and likely to prove an effective 'halo' product as well as an invaluable tool. The PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED is a wide angle lens offering both tilt and shift movement.http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012907nikkorpce24.asp

While not as wide as a fish-eye, it offers the possibility of less distortion- especially on architectural shots.

"I'm a Mom & Pop retailer...I'm not doing too well, and I barely get one sale per day, if even that."

I figured something like that.

Actually, storekeepers tend to not mind some non-buying foot traffic since nothing gets people into a store like the sight of other people already there. And the more people in the store the more chance of sales.

The "round" kind of fisheye lenses are silly in my opinion, since they waste much of the frame on nothing but black space. The 10.5mm is a full frame and using various pieces of software, you can "un-distort" the central parts of the image for interesting effects.

Another wonderful feature of the 10.5 mm Nikkor Fisheye is that it has a rated Macro focal distance of 5.5 inches from the sensor, which on this lens means that you can focus sharply on things that are about 1.5 inches from the lens!

Magnet shops, novelty shops, etc....already get a high degree of foot traffic. What they need most is sales.

That's not the message Althouse is sending out.

The message Althouse is sending is to simply walk into a store, find whatever you like, and---rather than purchase it, take lots of pictures, and just use the pictures as wallpaper.

Five years from now South Congress will be total urban blight with boarded up vacant storefronts, trash-filled gutters, and graffiti-laden walls.

And somewhere, standing in an unemployment line, will be a former Shopkeeper, now gone out-of-business, remembering how Ann Althouse swept through Austin, with her camera, doing nothing to encourage spending.

They are younger men, and much more well-versed in two rules of internet culture and contemporary culture in general: (a) don't feed the troll and (b) don't talk to the psycho chick. Thus, no complaints or other forms of engagement from them.

And I have no idea why I am violating those two good rules with this comment. Just feeling charitable, I guess.

You can also get the distortion effect of that mirror with an image editing program like Photoshop.In my experience, special purpose lenses don't get enough use to justify the expense, space, weight, etc.

About that lens: I use a D40, not the D50 you have, but be certain you don't need to buy AF-S lenses rather than AF. With my D40 (which replaced the D50), the ability to auto-focus is driven by a servo motor in the lens itself, as opposed to being driven by a screw drive in the body of the camera. I suspect you're fine with that lens, but thought I'd mention the distinction. I have no experience with fisheye lenses. eyeDance